Executive Presence and Visibility

You can spend time refining your story and building strong materials, but none of it matters if you do not show up with presence. Executive presence is not about being the loudest voice in the room or using impressive jargon. It is about inspiring confidence in your competence, your judgement, and your ability to lead and deliver outcomes under pressure. Whether you are in an interview, presenting to a board, leading a town hall, or having a one-to-one conversation, people are always asking themselves one quiet question: can I trust this person to lead us through uncertainty?

Presence and visibility work together. Presence is how you show up when you are in the room. Visibility is what people say about you when you are not. Together, they answer the question every board and executive team is really asking: why you, and why now. It is normal to feel doubt when you are in transition or exploring what comes next, but executive presence is not about performing perfection. It is about showing up steady, intentional, authentic, and real.

This is the layer that brings your leadership brand to life. Like any skill, it can be strengthened through awareness, feedback, and deliberate practice. When you build this muscle, your confidence becomes visible to others, not just something you feel internally.

Practical tip
Before your next interview, meeting, or coffee chat, write down one sentence that captures how you want to be experienced in that interaction, such as calm, decisive, or thoughtful. Use it as a mental anchor to guide how you speak, listen, and respond.